Down the Rabbit Hole
by LaylaMartell
Summary: A retelling of the Spirited Away story - with some major differences, and some minor. Chihiro has recently graduated from high school and is not pleased about going off to college. A wrong turn on the drive home from orientation leads her and her family into the Spirit World. Welcome to adulthood! Rated for language and future alcohol use/sexual content. I do not own Spirited Away.
1. One Summer's Day

Chihiro huffed for the third time in ten minutes, scratching through words on the notebook in her lap. Despite the beauty of the weather on this summer day, she was in a very, very foul mood. She swiped through her texts again, reading messages from her friends that were miles and miles away.

 _I'm gonna miss you so much. But we'll hang out on holidays, alright?_

"Tch. Yeah, whatever," she grumbled. From the passenger's seat, Chihiro's mother turned around.

"Did you say something, sweetheart?" The girl in the back seat huffed one more time, placing her elbow on the base of the car window, and her cheek in her upturned palm.

"It's nothing, Dad. It's not like it matters at this point, anyway," Mr. Ogino's brows furrowed and his lips tightened into a thin line at his daughter's attitude. He understood that she was upset about not being accepted into the university that most of her friends were attending, but her moping and passive-aggressive behavior was beginning to really grind on his nerves.

"Chihiro, be nice to your father. Sometimes things don't work out the way we want them to. I didn't get into my first choice of school either and…"

Chihiro had stopped listening at this point. Ever since she received her acceptance letters and her one rejection letter, she had been getting this lecture over and over. Why wasn't she allowed to be mad? Sure, the university that she selected as the next best thing wasn't bad, but still…Things just weren't going her way. _Couldn't they have, like, bribed the admissions office or something?_ she thought to herself as she stared out the window at the blurring landscape.

Her father, in the very stereotypical male manner, had decided to take a "shortcut" back to their house after traveling to orientation at the university. Now it seemed to be the scenic route, and he stubbornly refused to admit they were lost. In an attempt to squash her feelings toward her parents, her school situation, and even the car ride, she went back to scribbling in her notebook.

Naturally, today was the day she was going to be stuck with terrible writer's block. Chihiro would write a sentence, read it over again and then violently cross it out. Another sentence, another scrutinizing stare, another scratch of the pencil lead, and repeat again. The fact that Chihiro's paper sanctuary was out of reach definitely wasn't helping her outlook at the moment.

"Honey, I trust you, but I really have to ask if you're absolutely sure about this route," Mrs. Ogino's voice briefly snapped Chihiro out of her frustrated internal monologue.

"I may have made a wrong turn a few miles back, but I'm sure that this way will get us back on the main road." Mrs. Ogino sighed at this, and her daughter looked out the window again. What had been suburban housing and paved roads had turned into hills with houses here and there, large-leafed trees, and a pebbled path that could hardly even be called a driveway or an alley. _Yup. Definitely lost. Definitely a shitty day. Whoop-de-doo_ , chimed in Chihiro's inner voice. At this point, she sighed at the realization that she was going to have to admit defeat. The car began to bounce over the uneven terrain, causing the brunette to hit her head on the window and popping her cell phone right off her lap and under her mother's seat. She cursed under her breath, simultaneously rubbing the sore spot on her skull and holding onto the handle of the door.

Mr. Ogino was definitely going too fast for whatever kind of road they were on, and Chihiro heard her mother shriek before the breaks were slammed and they came to an abrupt halt. Peering in between the two front seats of the family car, she saw what they had almost run into: A stone statue with a large carved smile. As her parents bickered about what just happened, she bent herself awkwardly to grab her phone underneath the seat in front of her. She could feel her fingertips brush against the edge of the device. _So close…_

"Huh? What's that?" The driver's side door opened and Chihiro's father noisily walked over the gravelly path past the stone figure. Mrs. Ogino followed right behind him. Chihiro finally managed to rescue her phone and clutched it to her chest, looking up to see what her parents were doing. A few yards from where the car stopped, there was an entrance in what looked like an old red building.

Aaaaand her parents were headed inside.

"Hey, you can't just leave me here! Jeez, where are you even going?" Despite the fact that she was still upset and honestly didn't want to spend any time with her parents, the cheery smile on the stone statue near her gave her the heebie-jeebies. "No one is that happy all the same," she muttered, giving it side-eye.

"Hurry up," she heard her mother say from the entrance. Chihiro walked over to where their backs were moving into the darkness before turning around one more time. As it turned out, the statue had faces on both sides. She rolled her eyes at it, turning. And then she felt the wind. A breeze stronger than she expected pushed her in the direction of what she now realized was a tunnel.

"Okay, that was sufficiently creepy," Chihiro mumbled to herself as she began to catch up with her mother and father. By the time she was in step with them, they had reached nearly the end of the tunnel where it opened up into a larger space. The next room was dark with columns and benches and only a few smallish windows to let light in. Mr. and Mrs. Ogino were grunting and "mm"-ing about things they saw, but Chihiro was pretty confused about what this place was.

When they finally exited the building, they were in a large field. Chihiro looked up at the place they had just left to see a huge clock on the wall face, and another smaller clock on the higher tower. Her father made a triumphant noise.

"This is exactly what I thought it was!" Chihiro rolled her eyes.

"Care to share?" she said dryly. Her father looked at her as if he was going to chastise her, but then seemed to decide against it.

"Well, back in the nineties, theme parks were pretty darn popular. So a lot of parks were planned and developed, but eventually they went out of style and a whole bunch had to close. This one must be like that… I wonder how long it's been abandoned." Mr. Ogino rubbed his chin, surveying the surrounding area. Out of nowhere, the ground began to rumble just the slightest, and dust drifted from the peeling walls of the clock tower.

"Was that a train?" Mrs. Ogino asked, looking between her daughter and husband. Chihiro shrugged, reaching into her pocket for her phone. _Damn. No service_ , she thought, before clicking the screen off. She looked up and, to her dismay, her parents had continued walking into the park. She groaned in frustration.

"Can we just leave? You said it was abandoned, anyway. I just want to go home and see my friends before I have to leave them forever. Mooooooooooom!"

"Oh, Chihiro. You need to stop whining. It's an adventure," her mother said over her shoulder.

"Well, it'd be a better adventure if I could still use my phone," Chihiro grumbled. Today was just not going to be her day, was it? As they walked through the large green field, they passed by a dilapidated hut and scrambled across a dried up river (Mr. Ogino guessed that it was a manufactured river, which was possibly why there was no water flowing.) The further they walked, the larger the upcoming section of stalls and building seemed to get - and Chihiro didn't even mean that in terms of perspective. To her, it just felt like more and more things were popping up in her sight. Her father whistled low.

"Woooow, this was a big one. It must have been pretty devastating to the people who created it when it had to be shut down." Chihiro had to agree with him on that. Walking up a set of stone steps, The Ogino family took a good look around. Food stalls were everywhere, with larger buildings a little further up ahead. And, very oddly, Chihiro swore she could actually smell something cooking.

Apparently her parents could, too. Soon Mr. Ogino was sniffing like a hound dog, trying to find the source of the delicious aroma. With a whoop, he signaled his wife and daughter over to a stall with platters of steaming, gorgeous food just sitting out. He stuck his head under the overhang of the stall and called out to see if anyone was there. Without even waiting for a reply, he began to serve himself from the piles of food on the counter.

"Honey, come grab some of this!"

"Oh, it smells amazing!" said Ms. Ogino, inhaling as she sat down at the counter. Chihiro looked at them incredulously.

"Are you serious right now? You just said this place was closed, and now you're just chowing down? Where are the people who work here?"

"Don't worry about it, Chihiro. Your ol' dad has cash and credit cards. We'll just leave money for them when we're done, if they aren't back by then. It's fine!" Chihiro shook her head, ponytail waggling.

"Nope, I have no desire to be in any part of this. Gonna walk away now, bye!" As she turned on her heel and began to leave, she was acutely aware of her parents yelling at her. Something about her attitude lately? She ignored them. She wasn't about to say it, but this actually wasn't to spite them. She really, truly had a weird feeling about the place.

Despite the shape it was in, she had to admit that the park was actually pretty cool. Scanning the landscape and the buildings, she tried to picture what it might have looked like 20 years ago. Her absentminded wandering and wondering came to a stop when her feet stopped hitting pavement and began to knock against wood. She was on a bridge.

Right before her eyes was a huge, gorgeous bathhouse that seemed to be in much better condition than everything else. There was even steam coming from it! _Maybe it's not closed?_ she thought to herself, tilting her head and gazing upward where the steam evaporated into the blue sky. Chihiro began to hear the same rumble from earlier, though this time she turned and actually saw a train moving across the water. _Wait, what?_

She rubbed her eyes, blinked a few times, looked up again…and practically jumped out of her skin.

"Ohmygod!" she yelped, falling rather ungracefully right onto her ass. Some guy had basically snuck up on her. _How did I not hear him?_

The person in front of her was staring her down with a look she couldn't quite place. "Uh, hello. I, um, we got lost and-"

"You shouldn't be here," the young man said, eyes narrowing. The sky was beginning to get dark, and his head whipped around right as the lamps around them started to come on. Chihiro's eyes went wide.

"W-wait, what? Shit, I'm sorry if we trespassed and-"

"You need to get out, it's starting. Leave!" He roughly pulled her off the ground and sent her in the direction she had come from. "Get across the river." Stumbling and nearly failing to keep up with how quickly he was dragging her along, she finally got enough breath to speak again.

"Look, I get it. I need to leave. But I have to find my parents first." The man's determined and steely expression turned into one of surprise before returning to its former state.

"It might be too late," he said quietly, his eerily green eyes boring into hers. A shiver ran down Chihiro's spine. _Too late?_ Not wanting to know what that meant, she went into a full sprint trying to find the stall where she had left her parents. Just because she was frustrated with them didn't mean she wanted them to get arrested…or something. She skid around a corner, seeing her parents from a distance.

"Mom, Dad, we've gotta go! I think we're gonna get in trouble and I don't really want to get arrested before I even go to college!" There was no reply. Rather, her mother and father were still eating loudly, messily. "How is the 18-year-old being the responsible right now while you two are being…"

That was when she finally caught up to them. "…pigs." Where her parents had been now sat two large pigs - actual, literal hogs. She could only stand there, frozen, wondering what the hell was going on. First the weird park in the middle of nowhere, then the train, then Mr. Serious, and now this? A hand caught her elbow and dragged her along again, but this time she was furious and prepared to retaliate. Chihiro pulled her arm out of the mystery man's grasp and started to yell at him, "What the fuck is this? Am I being Punk'd, because this is the opposite of funny!" along with many other sentences exclaimed out of confusion, rage, and just a touch of fear.

The young man turned around, grabbed her by the shoulders and gritted out, "You. Need. To leave. I am _trying_ to help you."

Chihiro growled back, "Fine. Help me. But I swear to god I'm gonna sue you and whoever else is here after this is over."

"Go back over the river. You absolutely need to make it across before it's too late. I'll buy you some time." Chihiro was off running in an instant, but she swore in the split second before she was hurtling down the aisles of stalls, she saw the guy blow petals or something weird out of nowhere. _Better not tell this story when I start school_ , she thought to herself, as she sprinted along the path. _Because people will either think I'm crazy or that I do allllll the drugs._

Chihiro truly thought she was going in the right direction, but suddenly the streets seemed foreign and when she reached the stone steps she had walked up not 2 hours before, the river was full. More than full. It had somehow transformed itself into a lake - maybe even a sea. The water was seeping into her sneakers when the gravity of the situation finally hit her.

 _What have I done?_


	2. Nightfall

Night had officially fallen. Way out in the distance, dozens of lights taunted Chihiro. Some seemed to be approaching, while some seemed to stay in place. It was as if she was on an island, staring onto the mainland. Except, as far as she knew, she was in the middle of a field and definitely not on an island. As the minutes dragged on, the girl realized that the incoming lights were from boats making their way to the shore.

She was scared, but she couldn't deny the elegant beauty of the elaborate crafts coming to dock. They floated closer and closer until Chihiro could clearly see their cargo. Levitating masks lined the decks, moving to and fro. For the nth time today, she could hardly believe her eyes. As the boat ground to a halt against the shore, the faces grew shadowy bodies and slunk onto the paths toward the food stalls and buildings. _Are those…ghosts? I must be losing my damn mind._

Her shoes were waterlogged now, socks squishing as she trudged back toward the steps. Back against the wall, she slid down to a seated position, cradling her head in her hands. _This has got to be a dream,_ she thought. _I just need to wake up._ Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes _. Inhale, exhale. Relax. It's just a dream._ When she opened her eyes, however, nothing had changed.

For the next few minutes, she tried pinching herself all over her limbs, even lightly slapping herself in the face. "Come on, wake up. This isn't real," she pleaded to herself. When that didn't work, she crumpled to her knees again. "Come on…"

"This isn't a dream. This is very real." Chihiro recognized the male voice. Again, mystery guy had snuck up on her. As he reached out to touch her, she attempted to block him. Instead of making contact, her limb went straight through him. She shrieked at the sight of her own hand.

"I'M SEE-THROUGH!" She flailed, distressed at her physical state. "Ohmygod. I'm dead, aren't I? Did we hit the creepy statue and die in a car explosion? Ohhhhmygod…" At this point, Chihiro's nervous, incoherent chattering of nonsense left her so focused inside herself she didn't even notice the quizzical look her new companion was shooting her. Because of her distraction, however, he was able to wrap his hand around her forearm and pry her hand off her face.

"Please listen to me. I'm on your side. Let me help you." he reached into the pocket of his pants and retrieved a wrapped dumpling. "You need to each something from this world, or else you will disappear. I don't think you want that." Chihiro wasn't convinced. She suspiciously eyed both the young man and the food he was offering her before tentatively before opening her mouth in the slightest. It would have been preferable to feed herself, but considering her hands were now rendered unusable, this would have to do.

"It's okay. Look, you're already getting a little better." The brunette looked down and saw that it was true. She promptly wolfed down the rest of the dumpling and gasped when her limbs were opaque again. The green-eyed man gently pressed his palm against hers as a sign that she really was solid again. "See?" Chihiro exhaled her relief, looking him in the face and thanking him.

He stood up and turned his hand to help her up. "Don't thank me yet. Come on, we need to go." Chihiro went to stand up but realized she couldn't use her legs.

"I-I can't get up. What did you give me?" She puffed out her cheeks and tried to stand again, but it was as if her legs weren't even her own. The young man looked around nervously before examining her.

"Hold still for a moment." He ran his hand just a hairs-breadth away from the skin of her thighs, murmuring something low and quiet enough that she could not hear. "Stand up," he commanded, and suddenly she was on her feet. She laughed nervously,

"Eheh, can I thank you n-mmph!" Just as quickly as she had gotten up, she was pressed flush against the stone wall, with a hand pressed over her mouth, and another hand against the space next to her head. Panic was bubbling inside her, threatening to escape, when he hushed her.

"Be quiet. They're looking for you."

They stayed in that position for awhile. Her, back against the wall and front against his front, trying to breathe evenly and not collapse. Him, basically holding her up with the pressure of his own body. For a minute he even leaned his forehead against hers, whispering, "Just a few moments longer, I swear to you. If I remove my hand, will you be quiet?" Chihiro tried to nod as subtly as possible, and the young man moved his hand to mirror the other. Another few moments later, she swore they were in flight toward the bathhouse. Her savior, she supposed, pulled her close and instructed her on what to do next. "I have cast a spell on you, but in order for it to work and for us to get in, you need to hold your breath as we cross the bridge. Can you do that?" Again, the girl nodded.

They whooshed past stall after stall, weaving around vendors and the shadowy beings that had disembarked the ships at the shore. Then came the buildings, with Chihiro nearly hitting walls in narrow alleyways before the bathhouse came into view. It was completely lit up now, bursting with activity. Men and women lined the bridge and entrance, holding lanterns or fans and welcoming their new guests.

Chihiro felt the air around them go still as they slowed to a halt near the first plank of the bridge. The green-eyed man began to count, "Three, two, one." Chihiro sucked in as much air as she could, cheeks puffed and nose pinched shut. The moment that her companion's feet touched the wood, people began to greet him:

"Hello, Haku-sama!" "How are you, sir?" "Good to see you, Haku-sama!"

With each passerby, Chihiro noted the respect with which they talked to this guy, apparently Haku. _He seems awfully important_ , she mused. _I wonder what his story is_. She took a moment to actually look at Haku. He wore rather traditional clothing in blue and white, but compared to everyone else around, it was her that looked out of place. He had dark hair cut in a bob, and in the light of the lanterns she couldn't tell if it was black or a very deep green. From his height and his build, she would guess he was close to her age. His face seemed so much older, though. It wasn't as if he had crows feet or other lines, _But still…_ she observed. She decided the age seemed to be coming from those misty green eyes. Something in them seemed…weary.

Haku broke her out of her thoughts when he lowly said they were almost there. They'd have made it, too, Chihiro later fumed internally, if it weren't for that damn frog. Two steps from the finish line, an enormous frog jumped right in front of the pair, loudly greeting Haku. Despite all the bizarre events of the day, the brunette was not prepared for an oversized, talking frog and gasped when it startled her. It blinked twice in a confused manner, beginner to sound an alarm. Before it could make a noise, Haku had trapped it in a bubble. The stunned frog floated in the air, giving a moment for Haku to rush out of the scene with Chihiro. His flight created wind and rustled some of the ladies' clothes, causing them to shriek and giggle.

Safely out of sight, Haku rested Chihiro on the ground. "Haku, I am so sorry. I messed everything up, I-" He cut her off, grabbing her chin and forcing her gaze.

"You did the best you could, Chihiro." He tried sound reassuring, but the commotion coming from in the bathhouse betrayed the situation. Chihiro was no longer in the presence of human beings, it seemed. And she was not welcome here. Haku looked as if he was about to explain something when his name rang out from the hallway closest to the pair. Hurriedly, he pressed two fingers to Chihiro's head. It immediately flooded with imagery and words.

"Go to the boiler room. If you want to save your parents, you will need to get a job at the bathhouse. It will be hard, but at least then you'll have a chance at getting out with them alive. When you get to the boiler room, talk to Kamajii. He runs the water system for the entire complex. Do whatever you can to get a job and do not let him give you a no for an answer." Haku's words faded in her mind. As he rose to leave, Chihiro realized that she had never introduced herself, yet this Haku called her by name. Her hand shot out to grab his sleeve, and he turned.

"Haku, wait. How do you know my name?"

Haku looked at her slowly, and almost sadly.

"I've known you since you were very small."


End file.
